"stewards of the mysteries..."

What is a "steward?" Here is the most famous steward I know  That's right--Gopher from The Love Boat was a steward. Stewards are basically people who take care of things, and in Gopher's case that was passengers on the ship. So, in the case of the phrase "stewards of God's mysteries," stewards take care of God's mysteries.

Unfortunately, in many congregations stewards is not a popular term. More often we want to use "disciple." I was once a "Discipleship Pastor" which was the most unfortunate title choice for a Lutheran pastor. Discipleship conjures up images of obedience, law, and regulation, and does nothing to open the mind and heart of ideas of growth, flourishing, and actively participating in the love of God from love. But so be it...it was not my choice...and the position was not one of my best.

But "Stewardship Pastor" I could get into except for one big problem--everyone in congregations thinks of "stewardship" as raising money. That is too bad, as it could mean so much more. It could mean raising money, but it PRIMARILY means taking care of something in someone's place. As Douglas John Hall noted decades ago, this "truncated understanding" of stewardship is part of the reason we are in such a global crisis in regards to our environment. We need the broader definition of STEWARD.
  His book The Steward should be required reading for all of us Christians who profess to take care of anything. So what are some of the mysteries we could be stewarding? What could you be caretaking?
     

Any and all of those mysteries could be stewarded....Plus plenty more

Stewards....plant...feed and nourish...walk with...journey towards...advocate...love,,, and embrace God's mysteries. Stewards are the lovers of the kingdom of God.

How do you steward? Whom do you steward? Where do you steward? (Let's make this verb catch on!)

May your tables be full and your conversations be true.